Religion in Alaska: Roman Catholics - Essay Example

Religion in Alaska: Roman Catholics Religion in Alaska: Roman Catholics Alaska is the largest in America as far as the land area is concerned. Even though Alaskans are believed to be the least religious people in America, all kinds of religions can be seen in Alaska including, Christians with different community denominations, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists etc. Different communities like Russian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, Presbyterian, Assembly of God, Roman Catholic etc makes Christian religion, the largest in Alaska.

Among different denominations in Christianity, Roman Catholics are the largest group in Alaska. This paper briefly analyses the history and religious traditions of Roman Catholics in Alaska. Alaska was under the Russian administration till 1867 and it was purchased by America from Russian authorities. Because of that, Russian Orthodox Church was the prominent community in Alaska earlier. Even now Russian Orthodox Church is one of the prominent communities in Alaska even though it lost its top position to Roman Catholics.

The conversion process of Russian Orthodox believers into Roman Catholic has begun in the second half of nineteenth century. “In the later part of the 19th century, Jesuits missionaries made attempts to convert the native Russian Orthodox in Alaska to Catholicism by using the Byzantine Rite” (Saint Nicholas of Myra Byzantine Catholic Church Anchorage, Alaska, 2010). The native Alaskans were so adamant in their religious beliefs and traditions and customs of Russian Orthodox Church and the conversion process was not much successful initially.

Several missionaries and priests tried several times for the conversion process from 1950 onwards. However, most of them tasted little success. Father Bayusik purchased property on the southwest corner of Arctic Boulevard and 22nd Avenue in December 1958 and shortly after he purchased a former mess hall from nearby Fort Richardson.  The building was moved to the new church site where it was renovated into a church, a rectory and small office. That September, Bishop Elko blessed the newest church of the Exarchate: Saint Nicholas of Myra (Saint Nicholas of Myra Byzantine Catholic Church Anchorage, Alaska, 2010).

The establishment of Saint Nicholas of Myra gave momentum to the spreading of Roman Catholic Church in Alaska and today Roman Catholics constitute the majority of the population in Alaska. According to the 2000 statistics, Roman Catholic Church had 54,359 members and 102 congregations (Alaska Religions, 2010). Roman Catholics in Alaska follow the same rituals and customs, normally seen among Roman Catholics in other parts of the world. The doctrine of trinity is accepted by Roman Catholics like many other communities in Christianity.

Christ is accepted as the savior of human even though Roman Catholics do give lot of respect to saints. However, they have some unique beliefs also. “Distinctive Roman Catholic beliefs include the special authority of the pope, the ability of saints to intercede on behalf of believers, the concept of Purgatory as a place of afterlife purification before entering Heaven, and the doctrine of transubstantiation” (Roman Catholicism, 2011) To conclude, Roman Catholics are the largest community among Alaskan Christians now even though Russian Orthodox Church was the earlier prominent Christian group in Alaska.

References 1. Alaska Religions, (2010). Retrieved from http://www.city-data.com/states/Alaska-Religions.html 2. Roman Catholicism, (2011). Retrieved from http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/denominations/catholicism.htm 3. Saint Nicholas of Myra Byzantine Catholic Church Anchorage, Alaska, (2010). Retrieved from http://www.ak-byz-cath.org/History.htm